The Gilded Six-Bits Analysis

Zora Neale Hurston’s, “The Gilded Six-Bits,” shares the story of Joe and Missie May, two young newlyweds experiencing the pleasures of marriage together. All appears well until Missie May cheats on the seemingly innocent Joe with Otis Slemmons, a high-rolling businessman of supposed wealth who apparently arrives in town from Chicago. The devastating blow of infidelity proves to be non-fatal to the marriage, but the servant-master relationship between them and personal agenda of Joe dominates Missie May’s life and will ultimately prevent the couple from ever finding sustainable marital satisfaction. From the beginning, Joe and Missie May seem to be conventional and stereotypical newlyweds. In reference to their home, Hurston writes, “there …show more content…
Whereas Joe has a job, nowhere in the narrative is it indicated that Missie May does anything outside of meeting Joe’s requests. As soon as he gets home, he asks her, “Got me some water in de kittle?” and tells her “Have it on de table when Ah git out de tub,” asserting his expectation that she serve his dinner upon arrival and follow his specific requests. Joe gives these orders to Missie May just like any master would give his servant- without her consent or consideration. Interestingly, Missie May tries to assert that she holds some degree of power in the relationship, responding to him, “Don’t you mess wid mah business, man,” and “Ah’m a real wife.” However, as soon as the food hits the table, Joe snatches the “tater pone” away from her and denies her begging to have some. She is denied the food she made herself, another example epitomizing the servant-master relationship. Furthermore, does catering to her husband and submitting to his authoritative directions characterize Missie May as a “real wife?” If Missie May’s definition of a “real wife” is a life dictated by the demands of her husband, she is certainly falls under the

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